


english garden

by flymetomanchester



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Botany, Dan doesn't care, Emotional Hurt, Flowers, M/M, Phil owns a flower shop, Uni Dan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2020-06-27 01:01:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19780015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flymetomanchester/pseuds/flymetomanchester
Summary: Phil had just graduated university and has a degree in botany. He has plans to open his own flower shop back in his hometown and when he does he's on top of the world. But he decides he needs help and hires a kid named Dan, who just doesn't care and may just be the downfall of Phil's shop.





	english garden

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the phandom reverse bang!

“So,” Martyn said sitting down and handing Phil his coffee, “What’s next?”

Phil took the cup from him, and raised it and took a sip out of it. The warmth from the drink soothed him. It also had left a caramel aftertaste, which he wasn’t mad about. It could have been worse, as he doesn’t really drink coffee anymore. Throughout his university years, he drank it one time and felt nauseous the entire day, so he stopped drinking it. If he needed, he would just drink tea. It gave him the same effect really. But Martyn didn’t really want to go anywhere other than the coffee shop that morning, his treat, so Phil reluctantly agreed to go.

Though the window, Phil watched people walk down the streets. He wondered where they were going. He had forgotten for a moment that he was sitting with his brother in a coffee shop, and were supposed to be catching up. But Phil drowned out his brother just for a second.

“Phil -“ Martyn waved his hand to get his attention again- “What’s next?

Turning his head to look at his brother, he cocked his brow. “Next?” Did he miss something?

“You’re graduating next week,” Martyn chuckled, “What’s the plan after? Or don’t you know yet?”

Phil bit his lip and sat his coffee down, and he looked at his brother. “I wanna buy a flower shop.”

“A flower shop?”

“Yeah!” Phil’s eyes lit up instantly, so Martyn wasn’t about to tell him to not explain. It was rare that Phil was ever excited about something, so he was curious. “I mean, I did study botany and I’ve always wanted to own a flower shop. Plus I can move back home and get an apartment and find somewhere close by to open a shop.”

It was true too. Phil adored flowers. Now when he said adored, he meant it. There was nothing he didn’t like about flowers. Even ones that most people don’t like, he found something about them to like. Which in retrospect would add to his extensive knowledge of plants.

But, the idea of having a flower shop back in his hometown was ideal. There was honestly nothing more that he could ask for. He just wanted to be able to put his degree to use and work with flowers all day, which would also make people’s day. In his mind, who wouldn’t didn’t like flowers? They were so simple yet precious to him. Sometimes a symbol of a gesture, or to show that someone cares. Throughout high school, he would sell flowers. He would take the money he earned and sell them throughout the school and it would bring him joy seeing others with them. Sometimes if he saw someone was having a bad day he would leave them a flower in hopes to cheer them up a bit. Even if it was just the smallest bit of joy, it meant he did his job.

“Won’t that be expensive though?” Martyn asked, taking a drink of his coffee. “Can you even afford to live on your own and saving up like that?”

“Yeah, a bit,” Phil rubbed the back of his head. “I’m hoping to be able to start up a shop with at least £20,000. But I don’t know. I’ll make it work somehow, I mean, I got through university debt-free.”

“£20,000?” Martyn stared at his little brother, eyes wide. “Don’t you think that’s a bit much?”

Phil shook his head, “No, not really. It’ll make me happy, and isn’t that really all that matters?”

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right,” Martyn chuckled. “When did you get so smart?”

“When you stopped treating me like I was 10.”

Martyn smiled and shook his head, “I suppose you’re right.”

“Are you coming next week then?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t I be?”

Phil shrugged, “I dunno.”

Knowing that Martyn was going with his mum and dad to his graduation meant a lot. Sure it was silly, but even at 22 he still looked up to his brother like he was a hero of some sort. That much he could say at least. There was that at least to look forward to next week.

Phil had honestly never really thought about what he wanted to do after university until a few years into it. He always just assumed that he would wing it and hope for the best. But as he spent more and more time with plants, and learning about them, it was evident what he wanted to do. It was just getting that kickstart that would be the hard part for him. Especially on his own.

Phil never had put much thought into doing anything with anyone, career-wise at least. Of course, at university he had friends. He loved them dearly, but none were interested in what he was, flowers and plants that is. He had one mate that studied biology, but nothing related to plants that mattered. He wanted to be a doctor, at least Phil thinks, so he had to take bio for that. Another wanted to be a film director and took classes on that. But then there was Phil. Studying botany and wondering how things would go after university.

Martyn cleared his throat. “Anyone you fancy yet? A cute girl maybe?”

“Oh.. oh. Uh no, not really.” Phil said. It wasn’t a complete lie. There was no one that he happened to fancy at the moment. It never really crossed his mind if he was honest. Phil scratched the back of his head nervously and looked down at his cup.

“Relax,” Martyn laughed, “Only teasing, no need to get worked up or anything like that.”

Phil nodded. Right. No need. He always tended to get worked up about things. It was a flaw, but of course, one that he just had to deal with. It wasn’t like there wasn’t a reason he was worried, but that was Phil. An over-thinker. Quite the downfall if you had to ask him.

“Think it’ll be hard getting a place?”

“No, there are apartments available all over the place back home,” Phil said, missing the question that his brother was asking.

Martyn stared at him completely dumbfounded. Phil noticed and instantly his cheeks faded into a crimson red and he had the sudden urge to crawl under the table and hide. “I meant for a shop.”

Oh. Of course, that’s what his brother meant. It could never be that simple for him could it? “I mean… maybe? I don’t know. I’ve never owned a shop or business before. There’s bound to be somewhere back home, even in the inner city.”

“I suppose you’re right. But the inner city? Are you sure about that?”

Phil nodded. Granted he would prefer to be on the outskirts of the city, but still in an area that would get him business. But the inner city couldn’t be all that bad, other than the crowdedness and the occasional rude person you just happen to run into. It wouldn’t be that bad. It couldn’t be. There would be a lot more business that’s for sure.

Maybe there he would get orders that would eventually be delivered to other parts of the city. If that were the case then perhaps he would need some help. But he should be able to handle it though. Worst case comes, then he’ll add someone on to help out.

Taking another sip of his coffee, Phil was disappointed to find it cooled down a bit. Martyn would probably be soon leaving, and he would go back to his dorm for the last bit of time he was there. He wanted to try and plan some stuff out over the next few days. It would be hard to start a business he assumed, so he wanted to get a head start.

It couldn’t be that hard, could it? Sure there was a lot of planning and finances, but he could do it, right? Not to mention everyone he ever knew loved flowers and in the middle of a city would be perfect.

“Are you gonna go soon?” Phil asked.

Martyn chuckled and took another sip of his drink. “Oh now you’re eager to get rid of me, aren't you?”

“What?” Phil's face went red and he stuttered, “No! O- Of course not. Just, us - usually you don’t stay long before you head back home is all.”

Martyn watched his brother and shook his head. “Calm down there bud, don’t get yourself in a mess.”

Phil nodded and looked around the coffee shop. It would look better if there were flowers around. Maybe it would make it feel like home. Not that there was much home to be found in a coffee shop.

He looked at the barista again. She was young, maybe around his age, maybe not. He wasn’t sure. She had deep red hair tiny to it, almost a dark maroon color, which faded into a lighter shade. He noticed how her hair tied back out of her face. He could see that her hair was curly. It reminded him of a Dahlias almost. A simple flower that was deep red and white.

He liked comparing people to flowers. Both were beautiful, so what was the harm in that?

-

The next week of Phil’s life was a blur. It all passed by so fast, that by the time he knew it was there it was leaving. He had finally graduated and was soon getting ready to head back home. He was just cleaning out his dorm room, which was covered in flowers. It wasn’t a surprise that he didn’t have a roommate. Not everyone loved flowers the way that he did and he was okay with that. Sure he didn’t understand those people, but nonetheless, that was okay.

He had around 3 boxes filled with plants from his room alone. His favorite had to be his Devil’s Ivy plant in a hanging basket. Looking around his empty room, Phil couldn’t help but feel a bit sad about the lack of life there now. But on the bright side, he could decorate his new apartment in flowers and no one would be there to stop him. Well, that is unless his mum were to come over and try taking them down.

The apartment that Phil had found had taken his breath away just from the listings. It was also just in his price range. He didn’t have a huge amount of money saved up at the moment, but enough for a little head start. But there was a small balcony where he could have a little garden himself. He had plans to have a small rug out there and put planter railings on the railing. He wanted to plant an array of flowers there, all of the different colors as well. But ones that would look flattering together.

That was one thing Phil learned over time. Even though the flowers were beautiful, if you kept them grouped with flowers of the same color family they looked better. Having bright colored and soft-colored flowers mixed together wasn’t pleasant for the eye. At least for him, it wasn’t.

But inside his new apartment, he wanted house plants and terrariums and maybe some cacti. Oh, the things that he could do with his new home. It made him giddy inside almost, it really did.

“Ready to go?” Phil’s mum asked, walking back into his room. She had taken a few boxes of clothing down to the car while Phil was finishing up.

“Yeah,” Phil nodded and handed her a box. “Don’t drop these please.” He asked and picked up the last two boxes.

She chuckled and headed out, Phil right behind her. As they made their way down the stairs, because the lift was broken yet again, Phil realized how much he wouldn’t miss these stairs. He would say they killed his back and legs but honestly, he did that himself throughout university.

His campus had been his home for the last four years, and now that he was saying goodbye felt weird. Just like it did when he left home. But he was going on to bigger and better things, at least that’s what his mum would tell him when he said anything negative really. He learned that the hard way.

The drive back home was long and agonizingly painful. Why did he go to university so far from home? Yes, it was his dream school, and it had an excellent botany program, but the drive back home was just awful.

As his mum drove, he pulled his laptop out of his bag that was at his feet. Setting it carefully on his lap, he rubbed his eyes and turned it on, momentarily opening his editing software. He opened a file he had been working on the layout of his future shop. He had gone through about five drafts at this point he thinks, but none were anything that he was happy with. They were all way too overdone and there was no way in his budget that he could afford that. Phil was desperate to find a middle ground for his shop. Something that wasn’t too out of his budget and over the top, but something that would also be eye-catching. Outside he knew how he wanted it, that was already planned out. But the inside was the tricky part.

As he started concentrating and editing again, his mum looked over and chuckled. “What on Earth are you doing?” She looked back towards the road but kept sneaking glances over whenever she could, waiting for Phil to answer.

“Working,” he mumbled, and didn’t take his eyes off the screen, “On the layout for my shop.”

She cocked her brow and looked at him when they came to a red light, “You’re still working on that? I thought you finished the draft for that already?” She asked him and started driving again. Her son confused her some days, she never knew what he was doing as weird as it was.

“No, I didn’t the other layouts I had. Plus they would be out of my price range until I get more money saved up.”

She nodded and kept driving. Best not to ask questions she supposed.

-

Phil looked around his apartment and smiled to himself. He had just finished moving in and unpacking everything and putting things where they go. But Phil had also spent the last couple days putting his plants everywhere and even on his balcony. It was picture perfect. And a picture could tell a thousand words as they say, and that was enough for him to think he did it right.

On his balcony, he had new planter railings that he had just boughten and he had just planted some new flowers he got there. He had gone to a local greenhouse and bought some Pansies and Violas seeds. Growing flowers was another thing about them that he loved.

In his kitchen, on his fridge, he had a little calendar that was covered in little stickers and his messy handwriting. There were also facts written on it about each plant he was growing, along with a watering schedule he had created to help him stay on track. Not that he would forget to water his plants that is, he just liked the idea of being fancy and writing it all down. He also told himself it was practice for when he opened his shop and had to keep inventory and tabs on everything.

The sun was shining in through his curtains creating a warm and home-like atmosphere that he could die for. It made him feel warm and fuzzy inside. Opening his freezer, he looked for something to eat.

“I really should have gone to the store,” he muttered to himself. Closing the door again, he went and grabbed his laptop and sat at the table. He searched for a moment for a pizza place close by that would deliver to his place. It wasn’t like he would mind going and walking to a place, but he was searching for a job still, and he wasn’t having the best of luck with it as he hoped.

He had put in a few applications at some greenhouses but had yet to hear anything back from them. He’d been searching since he moved back to his hometown but nothing had come through yet for him.

His phone rang from the living room and he groaned. Standing up, he walked in and grabbed it answering, “Hello?”

“Hi love,” his mum said and a smile crossed his face. Phil adored his mum and the random calls from her when he was bored while waiting for anything back. Without having a roommate anymore or anyone around he really appreciated the interaction.

“Hey, mum.”

“Still no word from any of them yet?”

“No mum. I hope I hear something soon though. It’s awful waiting.”

She chuckled. “Waiting usually never is fun dear. It was a greenhouse that was hiring wasn’t it?”

Phil nodded before realizing she couldn’t see him. “Yeah, mum. I figured having just earned a degree in botany I would have a better chance of being hired, but I guess not.”

“You’ll hear something back soon love don’t worry. How’s the new place? Covered in plants I’m assuming. It’s quiet here though without you and Martyn yelling back and forth.”

There was a hint of sadness in her voice and Phil frowned. “It’s nice, you should come by then. And yes mum, there are plants everywhere” - he pushed his hair out of his face - “Were you expecting anything else from me?”

“No, I suppose not,” she chuckled and then sighed, “Keep me updated on the greenhouse yeah?” Phil promised he would and hung up, tossing his phone back onto the couch.

As the days went on eventually Phil had gotten a call back from one of the places that thankfully were accepting him onto their team. Phil was over the moon that day and invited his mum down for dinner at a restaurant to celebrate. They laughed and Phil excitedly told her about his plans for a shop someday and she couldn’t help but smile at her son. Phil knew it may seem silly to others but this was his dream. And it was one that was looking quite promising now.

Though time went on Phil got up each day at the crack of dawn and walked to work. It was only a 15-minute walk, and he was used to walking everywhere as it is, so he didn’t mind it. He had a full-time spot working in the nursery there, which meant that he was on his feet all day long. Constantly he was walking back and forth watering and transporting flowers from the nursery to another spot in the building.

Other times he was walking throughout the nursery taking care of plants individually in some way. Since the plants there all varied in type, size, color and however else, he had to learn which plants were where to take care of them properly. When he wasn’t transporting flowers he was simply walking around planting more when spots became available. But then there were some things he had to do that really wasn’t his thing to do. Some days he would have to take care of the equipment others used, but usually when that happened, the next day he was showing people around and informing them on the various plants they had there.

Over time Phil eventually moved up where he worked. It surprisingly only took him a few months to be promoted nursery manager, where he oversaw everything regarding the nursery. He didn’t mind since it meant he had an increase in pay and could save up faster. Most days he would try his damned best to stay and work overtime. He didn’t need to, but if he did then it meant more that could go into his savings for his own shop.

-

“Come on Martyn,” Phil whined grabbing his brothers arm and pulling him off the sofa, “Before the snow starts.”

It was almost Christmas now, and Phil had finally just enough to be able to start his shop. When he realized he could finally afford it he sobbed for hours. Since then he’d been searching for days and days to find somewhere close by that had a place up for lease. He hadn’t been having the best of luck with it though. Most places were too far away or just out of his budget. But then not long after a small shop closed down and the building was up for lease.

There wasn’t much left to do Phil thought. He had underestimated though just how hard starting his own shop up would be. But he could do this. He told himself that he could from the start and he wasn’t willing to not try. Besides many people are like him and have no idea what they’re doing and they all probably have shops that are flourishing. If he didn’t try he would regret it.

Now though he was left with trying to figure out if he could purchase this shop as he wanted. The owner put it up for sale and as far as he knew not many people were all too interested in it thankfully. So his chances were pretty high.

“Alright alright calm down Phil. It’s not going anywhere.” Martyn told him as he walked over and grabbed his coat and slid it on.

Phil smiled rather embarrassed and followed suit. He put his hoodie on and slipped his sneakers on. Maybe wearing boots in the winter would have been the better idea, but oh well. Checking his phone quickly he saw he had a text from the owner of the shop, letting him know that he would be there shortly. A smile crossed his face and he headed out with his brother following him.

“So,” Martyn started to say as he opened the front door to the building, “Think you’ll get this place?”

“I hope so.” Phil looked at him. The wind was already starting to nip at his skin and turn his nose and cheeks red. “I don’t know where else to look if this place falls through.”

“You could move somewhere else?”

Phil looked at his brother with an unenthusiastic look on his face. “Very funny. If I move then it’ll be long before I can even open a store.” It was true though. Phil didn’t want to wait much longer since he already had the funds that he needed.

Martyn nodded and the two walked side by side down the streets. There weren’t many people walking, probably due to the cold, but the cars were flying by. The winds from them slammed into Phil making him colder than he was. His fingertips were starting to go numb. Thankfully where they were heading wasn’t much farther. He only had to hope that the owner was there already.

Turning down the street he saw a car out front and that the shop door was open. He was there and this may have been it. Phil’s heart started pounding out of his chest for some reason and he was nervous. He really had no reason to be and he knew that. But something was making his nerves soar sky-high and he just couldn’t help it.

Martyn looked at Phil and noticed how nervous yet excited he looked. It was a weird combination of things to feel really.

“It’s gonna go well Phil don’t worry. Besides what all are you even doing?”

“Uh,” Phil stopped and paused for a moment, “I guess just meeting him and explaining what I want to do with the property?”

Martyn nodded, “Just tell him like you have me and mum and you’ll be fine, don't worry.”

Looking at him Phil took a deep breath and for once in his life decided to trust his brother. “Okay, okay.” He mumbled quietly and started to head back towards the shop and walked inside.

It was cold and empty inside, something that he would have to change. Phil noticed that it was also much bigger than he thought, so he had more room to play with. But it meant he may have to change the design he had already. There was a man standing there looking around with his back turned to Phil and his brother. He was short and round, to put it bluntly with very few hairs on his head.

Phil bit his lip nervously and cleared his throat. “Uh, ex - excuse me?”

The man jumped and let out a noise that startled Phil and made him look to Martyn for some sort of answer. When Martyn shrugged Phil felt his stomach drop and he looked back to the man. He had on a tight blazer that really didn’t fit his body. It seemed snug around the shoulders but flared around his torso. But then he was rather round, so it made a bit of sense. This man was quite the opposite of Phil, who was tall and lanky, yet Phil felt intimidated.

“Ah!” He said with a smile and walked over and held his hand out. “You must be Lester, I’m assuming.”

Phil nodded and took his hand. Compared to his own his hand was warm and firm. Confident if you will. Whereas Phil was not. “Phil works fine.”

“Call me Dave. We can get into all that fancy nonsense later on proper names and all. It’s all pointless I swear but some people follow it by heart.” Dave looked over at Martyn. “And who are you?”

“Martyn,” He held his own hand out which Dave took with a smile. The two shook hands and Phil watched. “Phil’s brother.”

Dave nodded with a smile and stepped back. He turned away from them for a moment and looked around. “Well, what do you think?” He said promptly before looking back to Phil.

“It’s bigger than I thought,” Phil looked around and noticed a look of unease come across Dave’s face. “Not that that’s bad! It gives me more room and all.” Phil said quickly. He was surprised his words didn’t come out all jumped together like they normally would have.

Dave watched him for a moment before letting out a low chuckle. “Calm down my boy, I’m not going to bite you know. So, tell me about yourself.”

Phil nodded, dreading this question. “Um well, I just graduated from university back in the fall, and I have a degree in botany.”

“Botany?”

“Basically the study of plants sir.”

Dave laughed and Martyn chuckled with him. Phil looked at them both confused and utterly baffled.

“Don’t call me sir my boy. Makes me sound older than I already am.” He laughed and his shoulders shrugged as he did so. There was a red tint to his cheeks.

“Oh uh sorry. But I’m 22, almost 23 and I want to open a flower shop.”

Dave nodded and wiped his forehead with a piece of cloth before shoving it back into his pocket. “A flower shop ay? That’s one I haven’t heard. Most people want to open up coffee shops or bakeries, but there’s already so many around town that they’re bound to all fail. A flower store, not many of those around here honestly. You may be in luck with that.”

Phil smiled. Genuinely for once as well. It was nice to have someone confirm that he was probably going to succeed. It was almost reassuring but he knew he could do this. So his mind was always on a spiral of how he could.

“I hope so,” Phil smiled at him, his voice a bit more confident than before, “I just really love plants in all honesty and anyway I can work with them will help.”

Dave nodded again, “Say, where were you working before? You mentioned it over the phone didn’t you?”

“Yes, I was at a greenhouse in the nursery.”

A wave of confusion washed across Dave’s face and Phil almost giggled. Forcing it down he explained what he did there and how much he loved it. He was met with a warm, and almost comforting smile from Dave.

The three of them talked a bit longer, over whatever. A bit more about Phil’s flower business, his life, or whatever Dave could think of. But eventually, they all said their goodbyes and headed off on their separate ways. Phil and Martyn headed back down the street, walking side by side again when Martyn slung his arm around Phil.

Phil looked at him and rolled his eyes.

“Hey, I saw that,” Martyn poorly groaned, obviously being dramatic. He was worse than Phil somedays. “No, but really, I’m proud of you. I know you don’t like doing things like that and it was probably terrifying. But you did it.”

“Think I’ll get the shop Mar?”

“Definitely.”

-

The sun was shining and birds were chirping. Spring had finally come to their little part of the world and Phil was ecstatic. He would take walks during the day and admire the flowers that were blooming. He would sometimes wander far from where his apartment was to fields and take a journal and draw the flowers there or write things about them. Something he enjoyed doing since he had a lot of spare time now.

Not long ago he got the call that everything was good to go and that he was approved to purchase the store he had his eye on. Dave, Phil still didn’t know his last name, called him with the news. There was excitement in his voice when he said it, almost like he knew how much it meant to Phil after their few interactions and he wanted to get him excited as well.

Now all he had left was to go pick the keys up and that was it. The shop was his after that and it was surreal. It didn’t seem real yet, or at least it hasn’t processed in his mind that this was a reality and actually happening.

That day as Phil walked down to the store to meet Dave he smiled at everyone he passed. He didn’t always get that same return but that was okay. He was happy, well he was completely over the moon to be quite honest. It was like he was on cloud nine.

Walking into the shop, he was met with Dave and a bunch of other people standing around. Raising his brow Phil stayed back for just a moment, not sure what to do. Last time he was here it was just him, Martyn and Dave. Now there were a bunch of others who he had no idea who they were. There was a man standing talking to Dave who looked quite intimidating to Phil.

“Dave?” Phil said and his voice cracked. Internally cursing at himself he stayed back as Dave turned and smiled.

“Phil my boy!” He exclaimed and walked over and shook Phil’s hand. “Before we sign anything, or talk about anything else, here.” He dug in his pocket and pulled out a key and placed it in the palm of Phil’s hand. “She’s all yours.”

Phil felt tears come to his eyes and he laughed slightly. “Sorry sir,” he said wiping his eyes and looking at the key. _All yours_. This was his. It was finally happening and nothing was stopping him now.

“Don’t call me sir, it makes me sound old,” Dave chuckled and shook his head. “I was thinking my boy, and as my gift to you, I’ve hooked you up with some contractors who can decorate how you want, and I’ll cover the costs.”

Phil stared at him. “A-are you serious?” Dave nodded with a smile and Phil felt tears come back to his eyes. “I - tha - thank you so much, Dave. I - how can I repay you for this?”

“Succeed.” He said, “Succeed.”

-

It didn’t take long before everything inside was finished. The walls were painted a deep gray and lights hung from the ceiling. A long shelf was alongside the back wall from when you walked in through the front door. Once his first shipment of flowers came in he was going to have them in baskets, or vases maybe he wasn’t quite sure yet, along the top shelf. Underneath he was going to have some things such as extra planters or possibly baskets or just more flowers. He wasn’t entirely sure yet.

On the back wall he had shelves on two sides, but in the middle was his logo for his shop. It was a simple outline in white of a flower with his shop name “The English Garden” underneath it in a font that was pleasing to the eyes. There was a section of flowers in the middle of the floor as well on a fancy table, well, there would be when the flowers come that is.

It should be any day when he has his shipment delivered. Then once that’s where he can finally set everything up perfectly and open finally to the public. Turning the lights off, he locked up and went outside, shoving the keys in his apartment.

An older lady was walking down the road towards him. She had on a pale pink dress and a sweater like top on overtop of it. She offered Phil a warm smile and looked into the window.

“Not open yet?”

“No ma’am, not yet. I’m just waiting for my shipment to get here and then once everything is set up inside and out here it’ll be open.”

She nodded and offered another smile. “I’ll keep my eye out. Not many places around here sell different flowers.”

Phil smiled as she walked off. Someone was already waiting for him to open his shop and he wasn’t dreaming as he thought. This was someone who was happy, well from what it seemed and waiting for his store to open.

Pushing his sleeves up, Phil decided to make a pit stop and order himself a cup of coffee at a local place. Inside the air was warm and there was a cozy feeling about it that he loved. Not many people were inside. Some were sitting outside at the tables catching up. Those inside were on their computers working or reading a book.

Walking up to the counter Phil ordered an iced coffee and paid for it. Usually, he would stay and sit to enjoy his coffee but he wanted to get home. He still had some business cards to make that he was gonna pin up on those bulletin boards that some places had hung. But then he just wanted to hopefully spread the word a bit more about his shop. Having business cards would maybe help, or at least he just hoped.

That night he had ordered Chinese food and sat in his living room designing some business cards. He didn’t know which one to go with, the two he did create he really enjoyed. There was a simple one that just had the phone number, logo and shop name on it. But then the second one was a bit more over the top with a pale floral border in the corners of it and his name in a fancy font in the middle of it with his info underneath of it.

Sighing, he sent both of the designs to Martyn accompanied with a text saying “which is better?”. He knew he probably wouldn’t get an answer until tomorrow as it was quite late. Yawning himself, he shut his laptop down and placed it on the coffee table. He’d worry with that in the morning.

**Author's Note:**

> [Read on tumblr](https://flymetomanchester.tumblr.com/post/186236049840/english-garden-%C2%BD-fic-phil-had-just-graduated)


End file.
